Does your nanny's sense of well-being matter to you?

[Anonymous]

Yeah OP, this argument is already being hashed out elsewhere.

FWIW my bosses care a great deal about my well-being; they pay at the top of the market ($20/hr), give me great PTO/holidays/vacation, provide a stipend toward my health care, give me Christmas and birthday bonuses and gifts, and paid me my FT salary for four months when I was unable to work. I've been with them two years and hope to stay for one or two more (depending on when I decide to start/get into/can pay for grad school) but would stay forever if I was going to make nannying my career. They're absolutely wonderful.

So just a shout out to all the MBs here who care about their nannies and do everything they can to treat them well. We know you're out there and we greatly appreciate you!


$20 ia hardly top of the market... it's slightly above the average for DC of $18. I make $35 and can still go higher.


Well I don't live in DC and here it is definitely near the top of the market. I make $22 at my PT job but that's far, far fewer hours per week.

And anyway, even if it was mid-range, does being paid my full salary for four MONTHS of medical leave really get overlooked in this scenario? I waived an annual raise because of their generosity in a time of enormous stress and worry and haven't regretted it for a second. Get some, give some...and vice versa.

+100!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh good lord, how did a perfectly happy I love my NF post end up in this?

I've worked for three families long term and they all cared about my well-being, of course. All three of them were extremely lovely, generous (not just with their money) and considerate people. We're still in touch years later.

Anyone would like to rain on my parade now?

Wow. Seriously.

I'm actually taking the extra forty seconds out of my day today to block DCUM on my tablet and my phone after this thread. I can usually tell when a topic will turn nasty and I stop reading before that happens but holy hell, this is out of control. And why???

Hopefully with all the time I save not browsing DCUM I will be able to find a job paying $50/hr

Why are people so mad about a nanny who earns a good wage?

Not even taking this to nannies, isn't it kind of obvious? Say you were a bus driver for Company A, you have experience and a bus driving degree, and then you learn about Company Z that pays its employees 3x as much as you earn. Wouldn't you be a little pissed?

These nannies may have been doing this for 7 years, working for 2-3 families in that time, earning between 15 and 18 dollars per hour. Now they are on here learning that people are earning $30+ working for some of the wealthy families in DC and they just can't believe it. I don't blame them. I feel sorry for them.

You do realize the posts you're referring to were calling out posters for being rude, not for their claims of making $35/hr? I frankly don't care what anyone else makes as I earn a comfortable living in a job that fulfills me, but I am not immune to the nastiness being spewed here. A nanny posted saying that her NF appreciates and cares about her, clearly a great deal, and is told she should be ashamed of herself and her hourly rate? Why? How is that helpful, informative, constructive, or in any way necessary? You seem to be obsessed with making every thread about the very tip top range of nanny pay but many people are working and living comfortably in the $20-$25 range with families they enjoy working for. There are a limited number of $35/hr jobs and not everyone can have one, so why all the anger toward nannies who aren't desperate to charge that much? Do you feel your value is undermined by talented and experienced nannies who support themselves and buy houses and take vacations on a lower hourly wage? Do you feel that your hourly rate is threatened if other skilled and qualified nannies happily work for far less?

And I know you'll say no, to which I respond THEN STOP EFFING TALKING ABOUT IT. It derailed what could have been a perfectly nice thread for no reason at all. Save those comments for the salary threads, Jesus.

[Anonymous]

If you think your nanny's income has nothing to do with her well-being, please think again.

[Anonymous]

Where is the :headdesk: emoticon on DCUM? C'mon Jeff. We need one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you think your nanny's income has nothing to do with her well-being, please think again.

The nanny's well-being is largely depend on her earnings and living conditions. If she can't afford to visit her family on a regular basis, or even go to the movies once a month, just how well do you think she's really doing?

[Anonymous]

She is in charge of her own well being. Just like every other adult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She is in charge of her own well being. Just like every other adult.

I can understand this attitude only to an extent. Nannies are so often expected to consider the well being of their charge and their charge's family when they make personal decisions, and I think that consideration should be a 2-way street. MBs often frame decisions and expectations their nannies have within what they can or cannot reasonably afford. If you expect your nanny to give a crap about your finances, you might want to try giving one about hers. I'm not saying taking actual responsibility for them, but we all need to be realistic. It isn't realistic to expect your 30-40 year old nanny with lots of experience and skills to live with a bunch of roommates in a shady area, collecting government assistance, so that she can afford to spend her days caring about the well-being of your child and your family. Its wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh good lord, how did a perfectly happy I love my NF post end up in this?

I've worked for three families long term and they all cared about my well-being, of course. All three of them were extremely lovely, generous (not just with their money) and considerate people. We're still in touch years later.

Anyone would like to rain on my parade now?

Wow. Seriously.

I'm actually taking the extra forty seconds out of my day today to block DCUM on my tablet and my phone after this thread. I can usually tell when a topic will turn nasty and I stop reading before that happens but holy hell, this is out of control. And why???

Hopefully with all the time I save not browsing DCUM I will be able to find a job paying $50/hr

Why are people so mad about a nanny who earns a good wage?

No one is mad at you for earning a good wage. If you earn that in real life, good for you. People disregard your posts because you are arrogant and dismissive toward nannies who earn less - and we all know that most well-paying nanny jobs pay well below $35/r. And because you routinely imply that nannies earning less aren't "real nannies", and the only real nanny in the world is you.

In one go, you managed to become laughingstock for both MBs and nannies, a rare feat on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Oh good lord, how did a perfectly happy I love my NF post end up in this?

I've worked for three families long term and they all cared about my well-being, of course. All three of them were extremely lovely, generous (not just with their money) and considerate people. We're still in touch years later.

Anyone would like to rain on my parade now?


Wow. Seriously.

I'm actually taking the extra forty seconds out of my day today to block DCUM on my tablet and my phone after this thread. I can usually tell when a topic will turn nasty and I stop reading before that happens but holy hell, this is out of control. And why???

Hopefully with all the time I save not browsing DCUM I will be able to find a job paying $50/hr

Why are people so mad about a nanny who earns a good wage?

No one is mad at you for earning a good wage. If you earn that in real life, good for you. People disregard your posts because you are arrogant and dismissive toward nannies who earn less - and we all know that most well-paying nanny jobs pay well below $35/r. And because you routinely imply that nannies earning less aren't "real nannies", and the only real nanny in the world is you.

In one go, you managed to become laughingstock for both MBs and nannies, a rare feat on DCUM.

Well said and very true, PP.

[Anonymous]

I doubt my sense of well-being has ever crossed my employers minds nor should it. This is my job. I do my job to the best of my ability and get paid for it. I don't even know how they would know about my well-being since I never discuss my life away from work with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I doubt my sense of well-being has ever crossed my employers minds nor should it. This is my job. I do my job to the best of my ability and get paid for it. I don't even know how they would know about my well-being since I never discuss my life away from work with them.

I seriously doubt that their child's well-being has crossed their minds either. After all, you need to stay on your toes to make THEIR lives easier.

[Anonymous]

I trust and respect my nanny enough to not worry about her like a little child. She accepted my job offer and doesn't complain about her salary so I'm sure she is making due. I've read the other threads and luckily I didn't pick a nanny who can't manage her money and wants to like in DuPont Circle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She is in charge of her own well being. Just like every other adult.

I can understand this attitude only to an extent. Nannies are so often expected to consider the well being of their charge and their charge's family when they make personal decisions, and I think that consideration should be a 2-way street. MBs often frame decisions and expectations their nannies have within what they can or cannot reasonably afford. If you expect your nanny to give a crap about your finances, you might want to try giving one about hers. I'm not saying taking actual responsibility for them, but we all need to be realistic. It isn't realistic to expect your 30-40 year old nanny with lots of experience and skills to live with a bunch of roommates in a shady area, collecting government assistance, so that she can afford to spend her days caring about the well-being of your child and your family. Its wrong.

Why on earth would I need her to give a crap about my finances?
I have no control where she chooses to live, with whom or how. These are personal choices the nanny fully controls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I doubt my sense of well-being has ever crossed my employers minds nor should it. This is my job. I do my job to the best of my ability and get paid for it. I don't even know how they would know about my well-being since I never discuss my life away from work with them.

I seriously doubt that their child's well-being has crossed their minds either. After all, you need to stay on your toes to make THEIR lives easier.

Nonsense. I happen to work for good parents and a great child. I just do not think in terms of them needing to care about my well-being because I am a grown woman! They hired me for their child's well-being - I'm sure a housekeeper who keeps an eye on their son would have made their lives infinitely easier than hiring me (who does no general housework) but a housekeeper would not have been best for their son.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She is in charge of her own well being. Just like every other adult.

I can understand this attitude only to an extent. Nannies are so often expected to consider the well being of their charge and their charge's family when they make personal decisions, and I think that consideration should be a 2-way street. MBs often frame decisions and expectations their nannies have within what they can or cannot reasonably afford. If you expect your nanny to give a crap about your finances, you might want to try giving one about hers. I'm not saying taking actual responsibility for them, but we all need to be realistic. It isn't realistic to expect your 30-40 year old nanny with lots of experience and skills to live with a bunch of roommates in a shady area, collecting government assistance, so that she can afford to spend her days caring about the well-being of your child and your family. Its wrong.

Why on earth would I need her to give a crap about my finances?
I have no control where she chooses to live, with whom or how. These are personal choices the nanny fully controls.

Just remember saying this next time you try to justify any legitimate request with "we just can't afford it". Maybe you've never used that line, but I'm sure not one nanny on here hasn't heard it.